Directed by ALICIA MORALES & KIRYA TRABER
Written by ALICIA MORALES, KIRYA TRABER & THE CAST
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Stage Manager MOLLY LITVIN
Scenic Designer JADE CHEW
Costume Designer NILE HELGERUD
Lighting Designer FIONA SELEP
Sound Designer MAX VAN
ASSISTANT Sound Designer AIDAN SAMWICK
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director of sound & media john kemp
SOUND DESIGN MENTOR MARK BENNETT
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SUMMARY
Playwright Kirya Traber and Movement Artist Alicia Morales bring an installment of The Poverty Archive, a devised work of joyful defiance, to the TISCH DRAMA STAGE Festival of Voices. Through a collaborative process with an ensemble of generative performers, Traber and Morales wrestle with historic archives of Greenwich Village to reclaim the record, highlighting the genius, culture making and beautiful experimentation (ref Sadiya Hartman) of those categorized as poor.
DESIGN SUMMARY
The design was inspired by NYC sonic layers and the beauty of street music. Street musicians are the reason people take a brief pause, gather, and enjoy the rhythm whether it be above ground or underground. For the show, we too are asking the audience to pause and explore the historic archive of the buildings and people in the area.
VIEW PAPERWORK EXAMPLE BELOW
VIEW DRAFTING PACKAGE BELOW
SYSTEM DESIGN
With a thrust stage configuration, I wanted to create a LCR, Rear, and Subs profile for each seating bank. On stage, there are three downthrows and two upstage speakers. Our production was part of a festival, so our audio system also had to suit the needs of our counterpart. In a few scenes, the ensemble does a stomp beat, which was picked up by the PCC-160 upstage. We added reverb and sent it to the subs to help expand the stomps' impact.
SOUND DESIGN HIGHLIGHTS
*THESE FILES ARE CONVERTED FROM A SURROUND DESIGN TO STEREO
SOME IMPORTANT SONIC JOURNEYS MIGHT BE LOST
FOR A BETTER EXPERIENCE, LISTEN WITH HEADPHONES*
TOP OF SHOW – INTRODUCTION
A collage of NYC field recordings, from ambiance to street music in subways and around parks. It is the experience of hearing NYC sonic layers, constantly changing, and yet co-existing seamlessly.
I later used this sound palette for transitions and tying the different scenes back to our world.
TRANSITION – HOUSE OF D
Moving from a dance sequence in the scene before into a scene taking place inside the New York Women's House of Detention. We took casts' prerecorded stompings and humming, with some added detention-specific sound.
In every transition, there is a literal collective breath as a palette cleanser before we introduce the next sonic world.
TRANSITION – GHOSTS AND GHOULS
Transitioning from House of D into Halloween night in the 1980s, the ensemble is getting ready to go out that night. Starting the transition reminiscing the collective work-song humming, we cleanse the palette with a breath and guide the audience into the next world.
PERFORMANCE PHOTOS
PHOTOS BY JUSTIN CHAUNCEY
